One last Austin post to wrap things up! Although the highlight of my 7 days in Austin was undoubtedly Vida Vegan Con, I was also in Austin just for the sake of being in Austin. The only other time I'd been in Texas was in 1999, for the few hours it took me to drive through the panhandle on I-10 with my college boyfriend. I remember stopping at a DQ (I still wouldn't be vegan for another six months at this point) and passing by a slick little two-seater sportscar in the parking lot. On the floor of the passenger side was a five-gallon bucket, about 75% full of spent shells (not the kind you get at the beach).

So naturally, I was looking forward to the 'weirdness' (at least by Texan standards) that Austin promises. And it did not disappoint! Being a weirdo myself, I found Austin to be generally delightful, creative, and fun, if altogether way too hot and bizarrely erratic in the sidewalk department.

Here's what I'd recommend to any out-of-towner looking for a fun experience in Austin:

Museum of the Weird

HALP

I get the distinct impression that Sixth Street is to Austinites a bit like what Fisherman's Wharf is for San Franciscans. If that's the case, then Museum of the Weird is just as much a fascinating, authentic gem shining out from the cheap plastic tourist rubble as our own Musée Mécanique is. Opened in the grand tradition of the American dime museum, the MOTW features a modest but impressive array of oddities from a bygone era, from Feegee mermaids to Bigfoot tracks. A wax statue of John Merrick (aka The Elephant Man) calmly watches over an honest-to-goodness Egyptian mummy (who, once authenticated, will be returned to Egypt). The self-guided tour is brief, at half an hour tops, and consists basically of a crowded hallway crammed with the aforementioned curiosities. However, once you reach the end of the hallway, a tour guide appears, and that's when the weird really begins. I won't spoil it but suffice to say it was an electrifying experience.

HOPE Outdoor Gallery

I learned about HOPE Outdoor Gallery while researching all the cool stuff I was going to do in Austin. My first stop when planning a trip, and I highly recommend it to anyone about to go on vacation (or looking to get inspired on where to go), is Atlas Obscura. According to AO, the living art project started as a neglected construction site where the foundation for condominiums had been laid and abandoned. Tucked away on a leafy side street just a stone's throw from the massive flagship Whole Foods grocery store, the concrete walls now explode with colors and shapes. A small, equally colorful trailer sits on the property selling additional artwork and, while I was there at least, blasting death metal. Because it is a living work of art, it's worth going whenever you can, because it will never be the same. It's also worth going whenever you can because, with the "recession" now "over," the private property owner is going to be itching to get construction going again. There's no official website, but here's a map. It's open 24/7, because it's outdoors!

West 2nd Street

Although this is touted as an up-and-coming 'shopping district' in certain tour guides, I found West Second to be a little sparse, and with plenty of generic filler like Urban Counterfitters. That said, there are a handful of more unique shops I definitely enjoyed, and the area is worth a look!

Toy Joy is the crown jewel in what will hopefully become a thriving shopping district. It's a cramped, chaotic, and truly enjoyable toy store for all ages. In fact, there were more adults than children when I went. It's incredible how much they're able to fit into a relatively modest storefront, but there's a solid variety of offerings: from wooden playsets to graphic socks, Japanese mascots like Rilakkuma and Pusheen, board games, MMRPGs, and more. It's a great place to get unique gifts for your friends and for yourself.

The Alamo Drafthouse

I knew Alamo Drafthouse was a place where you could go and see movies and drink beer, and while I think it's obviously a great idea, I didn't get why everyone was talking about it all the time. Until I saw a movie there. This is definitely a step up from the only other 'full service' theater I've enjoyed, the New Parkway. First off, you get to choose your seat when you buy your ticket- this has always struck me as a far better method than the chaotic 'first come, first served' tradition of most theaters, and frankly, takes a lot less hassle out of trying to find open seats upon arriving in the theater itself. Secondly, each row is equipped with a lovely chest-height counter for food and drinks, under which and in front of each seat is an inconspicuous tray with low-level lighting for your menu and order slips. My waitress came over to introduce herself and explain the whole deal almost as soon as I sat down- all you need to do is write down your order on a piece of paper, stick it in the little tab at the edge of the counter, and she will bring you alcohol and food while you watch a movie. And yes, there is a vegan menu. I was only in the mood for one beer, which I bought at the counter with my ticket, so I did not experience the joy of full-service movie-viewing, yet. But I will soon!

For ever... and ever... and ever...

How could this get any better, you ask? Alamo seals the deal on my crotchety old heart by having a super strict no-cell phone policy: no calls, no loud-ass alerts or ringtones, no taking it out of your pocket to assault an entire theater with a glowing blue screen just so you can make sure you didn't miss an important Facebook alert. You will be kicked out. Seriously, if you can't deal with not looking at your phone for two goddamn hours, stay the fuck out of the theater-- it's a relief to find film lovers who feel the same way!

Naturally, I'm thrilled to know that Alamo Drafthouse plans to open a branch here in San Francisco! I can only hope that they have some exciting treat in store for us like they did with their new South Lamar location in Austin- although I saw Mad Max: Fury Road (ridiculous and amazing) at the classic 'Ritz' location on Sixth Street (pictured above), I made a special trip to the South Lamar lobby just for the carpet. Yes, the carpet: a custom-ordered recreation of the 70s-tastic hexagonal hallways of the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. It thrilled me to no end to stand on it. And then quickly scamper away, because that thing is creepy A.F.

South First

This little stretch is where it's at! There's a small but intensely awesome cluster of businesses I highly recommend visiting if you're in town. First off is Bouldin Creek Cafe, a large restaurant with indoor seating, outdoor seating, bar seating, and a quiet little nook off to the side for the very studious. Their menu is equally as large and completely veganizable. The first time I went I was positively overwhelmed by all the options.

For dessert, head south to a little cluster of food trailers in a grassy lot, where you'll find the hilariously named Bananarchy. It's fairly straightforward- frozen bananas dipped in chocolate and a variety of other toppings, with a number of vegan options. Naturally, there is a menu item named for Gob Bluth. Across the street from Bananarchy you'll see a menswear shop named New Brohemia and a record store named End of an Ear. It's hard not to like a city that enjoys its puns.

Just a few steps further south is Rabbit Food Grocery, Austin's premiere all-vegan grocery! They have everything your heart could desire, from soy curls to fair-trade chocolate. Because I've been relatively spoiled over the past year with the Bay Area's own V Republic, I wasn't as desperate to load up on foodstuffs as I have been on past trips out of town. Even so, Rabbit Food set forth a solid offering of things I had to snap up, including some awesome John Waters-themed greeting cards and beautiful cork and faux-leather handbags from Pixie Mood. I also grabbed a bottle of Sweet Ritual salted caramel sauce, since it's a local Austin delicacy- be sure to check The Vegan Sweet Beat in the next couple of weeks for a full review from Ashley and Elysse!

The 'Renedict' at Bouldin Creek Cafe

The Pixie Mood bag I got from Rabbit Food.

The Bananarchist Cookbook (aka menu)

South Congress (SoCo)

The South Congress shopping district is within walking distance of South First and is a few blocks of unique, locally-owned stores with an emphasis on antiques and vintage. Regrettably, Austin's old stuff is just as overpriced as San Francisco's, and if you're a vintage hound looking for a big score, you probably won't find it here. That said, there are still some good finds here and there. One of the most enjoyable stores I visited was Uncommon Objects, a vintage 'mall' with several individual sellers. Many of the displays are set up chromatically, which is pleasing to look at, and it's there that I found a porcelain glove mold for less than half of what I'd been quoted at the Alameda Antiques Fair. I was soon the weirdo with a severed arm in her luggage.

SoCo is known for its hydrocephalic deer.

Tacos, tacos, and more tacos

Arlo's will do you right.

No mistaking it: Austin is a taco city. Sure, there are plenty of restaurants worldwide that offer a delectable variety of tacos, and plenty of cities in the United States celebrate the awesomeness of this simple yet versatile snack. But none embrace and thoroughly imbue the taco into a way of life like Austinites can and do. Enchiladas, burritos, tamales, tortas-- these are all but mere distractions, serfs in the Royal Court of Taco. Just to confirm this, Foursquare recently released data from their app that reveals, according to their users at least, the most popular regional food on a state-by-state basis. Texas' food? Breakfast tacos.

My most memorable tacos in Austin were at the never-not-delicious food truck Arlo's, parked at Cheer Up Charlie's, one of the greatest bars I have ever been to in my entire life. I also enjoyed the highly futuristic touch-screen taco ordering system at the Whole Foods flagship on Lamar, as well as their extensive and generous salsas y condimientos bar. While I enjoyed many more tacos through my trip, I regretfully did not get the chance (yet) to try Cool Beans ATX or The Vegan Nom, and while I ate at Bouldin Creek Cafe twice, I was too overwhelmed by their enormous vegan-friendly menu to even consider classic tacos. Oh well, just means another trip to Austin, right?

Topo Chico (a.k.a. Topo Pipo)

One of the first things I began hearing about when I landed in Austin was Topo Chico. It's the drink to have in Austin, second only to a can of Lone Star. It seems simple enough- carbonated mineral water imported from Monterrey, Mexico- but like tacos, the love of Topo Chico in Austin transcends mere taste. It's a way of life.

I'll admit, I'm not the biggest fan of sparkling water. That said, I couldn't help but fall for Topo Chico's charms. The bubbles aren't as big or as harsh as other waters, and I'll be damned if it isn't immensely refreshing on a sweltering Texas summer day. It's a bit of a tongue twister for the uninitiated, though- the first time I ordered one I meekly said "a Topo... Topo.. Chee...ko?" My friend Amey, also from California, boldly pronounced it "Topo Pipo" and from there it stuck. Now we're both on a mission to find Topo Pipo here in Northern California! Our fellow aficionados, a.k.a. the Topo Pipo Posse, have similar missions to locate the fizzy water in their respective communities.

Yellow Bird

WARNING: do not apply cooter rubb directly to your cooter.

Of course I have to have a hot sauce on this list! Texans love hot sauce, and that's a condiment love I can majorly respect. It sure beats the bizarre Dutch love of mayonnaise. I enjoy keeping my own stable of hot sauces at home, and was only too happy to add to it. I enjoyed a visit to Tears of Joy, a hot sauce specialty shop on the touristy strip of 6th Street, and picked up a few different mini bottles, as well as some habañero popcorn and some "Alligator Hammock Cooter Rubb."

But it wasn't until I tried Yellow Bird habañero hot sauce at Bouldin Creek Cafe that I knew I'd found The Austin Hot Sauce for me. I don't know what it is about habañeros, but they make up some of my favorite hot sauces- I think it's the sweetness that goes along with the intense sting of what is one of the world's hottest peppers. Yellow Bird does it right- they know that the secret to a truly spectacular habañero sauce is using a carrot base! Not only does Yellow Bird come in generous, Texas-sized bottles, it's made right there in Austin itself! Yellow Bird also has serrano and jalapeño flavors, both of which I need to try just as soon as I make my way back to Austin. Good thing I've got 19.6 oz to last me till then!

Queso

Queso, top right. Keep reading for more about those donuts and popcorn tofu.

Ostensibly one of the cool things about Americans being from so many places is that not only do you get a combination of different cultural foods and traditions, but you get different takes on those foods and traditions from state to state. California's Mexican food is completely different from Tex-Mex. I think San Francisco, specifically, is your classic burrito town, whereas Austin is taco city all the way.

Another way this manifests is the Texan love of queso. 'Queso' merely means 'cheese' in Spanish, but Texan queso in particular is very specifically a type of spicy, liquid nacho cheese, often augmented with chunks of tomatoes and/or peppers. It's very Texan and very delicious. The newest location of Wheatsville Food Co-op has an enviable hot foods and salad bar, and nestled in amongst the sensory overload of all the delicious things I wanted to get, was a piping hot vat of vegan queso. Speaking of Wheatsville...

Donuts

Oh, baby.

For all our amazing options here in the Bay Area, there is a sad dearth of quality raised (yeasted) vegan donuts. Your only hopes are for Pepple's Donut Farm to feel like churning out a few dozen on a weekend, or for a friend flying home from Vegas to stop at Ronald's for you on the way to the airport.

That's why I'm so incredibly jealous of Austinites and their access to Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery donuts at Wheatsville. These donuts are divine- fluffy, soft, impossibly fresh, and with that unmistakably yeasty tang of a good raised donut. They come in your traditional flavors, such as maple-walnut, coffee, chocolate, and apple fritter. But where Red Rabbit really shines is in their specialty flavors: Austin creme (a modified Boston creme donut) and- get this -peach. A peach donut! It's like someone hacked into the appetite center of my brain and decided to give me a very special present. I also tried a maple-chocolate glazed donut at the Vida Vegan Con bazaar, which the Red Rabbit dude told me was a 'mistake' flavor. I BEG TO DIFFER GOOD SIR.

Popcorn tofu

I'd literally been seeing and hearing about Wheatsville's in-house popcorn tofu for about two years online before I had the chance to try it myself. Let me tell you, it lives up to the hype. The magical food fairies at Wheatsville take bite-sized chunks of tofu, dip them in some kind of otherworldly breading make of spices and unicorn tears, and cook 'em up crispy. They come in regular and Buffalo varieties, and you can grab them by the cup or in one of Wheatsville's specialty sandwiches. I ordered both sandwiches for the trip home- the po' boy I ate on the plane, and it was fitting that I was soaring through the air like a goddess, because that's how that sandwich made me feel. The buffalo popcorn tofu hero was my lunch the next day, and even after sitting in my fridge all night, the bread was soft, the tofu chewy and delectable, and the vegan bleu cheese tangy and perfect.

Wheatsville knows it's got something special, and I applaud them for it. You keep on churning out that popcorn tofu, guys. I'll keep coming back to eat it up.

AKA "where the magic happens"

My hero! A buffalo popcorn tofu hero, to be exact.

Kolaches

Kolache, burger, kolache: how vegans play duck, duck, goose

Oh hey, remember that thing I said further up about America being awesome because we have so many different culinary traditions? Kolaches are another great example. Apparently Texas was at one point home to quite a number of Czech immigrants- who knew? Not me! The kolache (pronounced koh-LAH-chee) is one of the enduring foodstuffs to come out of this wave of immigration and become part of the Texas way of life.

A kolache carries on in the grand global culinary tradition, from pierogies to pupusas, of "meaty/veggie stuff crammed inside of carby stuff." Kolaches in particular look like a baseball-sized dinner roll, golden brown on the outside, and stuffed inside with different types of traditional and 'Texan' fillings. I had two kolaches from Capital City Bakery, a vegan 'ham and cheese' variety, and loved them! Although after waiting in line for a good half hour, I was too jittery from hunger and excitement to get a proper photo, as you can see above. Definitely get them warmed up, they're better that way.

Real Creole cookin'

Despite always having wanted to since being a teen goth super into Anne Rice novels (don't judge), I've never stepped foot in New Orleans or Louisiana as a whole. Of the many things about that city that intrigues me, the unique culinary flavor to develop from Louisiana's singular history has been a constant. Ever since watching the first season of Tremé, I've had an unquenchable hunger for beignets. Which is weird, because I had never had them before- how can you crave something you've never tasted?

Naturally I was thrilled to find Baton Creole, a donut-box-pink food truck on East 6th Street, just a short walk from downtown Austin, which offered authentic creole cookin' with vegan options! I ordered the jambalaya on a stick, the long-anticipated beignets, and (of course) a Topo Pipo. It was just as charmingly Southern as I'd hoped it would be- as soon as I finished placing my order, the woman at the counter called out to some customers waiting behind me: "your etoufee is ready, y'all!"

The jambalaya on a stick was heavenly. It was spiced tofu on a skewer, rolled in dirty rice like a corn dog is rolled in batter, and then deep-fried, with a squirt of delicious Remoulade and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro. Genius! I was worried about there being too much food when my order was ready; travel and hot weather usually do a number on my stomach. But after my first bite of jambalaya that was no longer a concern. I ate the whole thing, no problem, it was that good. The beignets were everything I'd ever hoped for. I mean, you just can't go wrong with deep-fried sweet dough dusted in far more powdered sugar than is necessary. They reminded me a bit of New Mexican sopapillas, or Navajo fry bread. FYI, apparently the brick-and-mortar location of Baton Creole uses a different, non-vegan beignet recipe, so be sure to head to the truck if you want your heavenly little sugar clouds to be cruelty-free!

Watch for my new book, The Skewer Diet.

Gettin' dirty with that rice.

Ice cream

It took me way too long to get to Sweet Ritual, the all-vegan ice cream shop in Austin- I didn't go until my final day. But the important thing is that I made it, and that I had a coffee milkshake for breakfast, because I am Living Healthy. Sweet Ritual has a dazzling variety of flavors to choose from, all of which are made from peanut, almond, or coconut base instead of dairy. Or you can also just get plain old soft-serve, or one of their tasty custom shakes. Next time I visit Austin I'll be sure to carve out space for several trips to Sweet Ritual, to give myself a fully well-rounded experience.

Sweet Ritual's offerings at the Capital City Bakery Third Anniversary celebration

Breakfast of Champions!

Detroit-style pizza

Photo by Jojo Huxster of Vegan in Brighton (tha best)

Before coming to Austin, I knew only two types of pizza: New York and Chicago. Being from the Bay Area, I have no dog in this fight. We're just happy to eat whatever the rest of you bring with you when you inevitably flee your snowy winter hellscapes for our comfortably mediocre year-round fog. My mind was blown to learn that apparently, there is Detroit-style pizza.

That's what's on offer at Via 313, which has a food truck directly across the street from Baton Creole on East Sixth Street. Detroit-style, for the uninitiated, is a square personal pan pizza with a thin and greasy crust, and the cheese underneath the sauce (what the?). If pressed to name this particular 'style' of pizza, I'd say "middle school cafeteria." That said, Detroit-style tastes way, way better, even if it looks the same. Via 313 can make nearly all of its menu offerings vegan as well as omnivorous, and there's a lot of seating and drinking next door at the Violet Crown Social Club. The kind folks of Via 313 will even deliver your pizza to you in the bar! It's dreamy bar food, and I imagine it even tastes delicious sober, too!

Thanks, ﻿Jojo﻿, for the delicious photo of your birthday pizza! It was too dark and... drinky... for me to take a picture when I had mine.

With that, I sadly close this chapter on Austin. It was a truly memorable week, one I'll cherish forever in my memories. What's more, now that I've got the lay of the land (and, more importantly, the Capitol Metro public transit system), I'm even more motivated to return someday soon and catch up on all the stuff I managed to miss. So, Austin, farewell for now, but hopefully not for long.

Aw, I wish I'd had a few more days in Austin because there's so much I didn't have time for. And I wish I'd had more room for more doughnuts. I only tried one!!! The shame. I did get that Yellowbird hot sauce, and I've decided that I will order it for life now. And that popcorn tofu .... man, I've gotta figure out to recreate that!

Ugh, I should not have read this 24 hours after landing back in the UK! I already miss Austin so much! I miss popcorn tofu and Topo Pipo (go team!) and tacos and I share all of your love for Alamo Drafthouse. Such a great theatre, Nick and I saw Jurassic World there and the trailers involved gigantic cats being dinosaurs. Best! Oh and it took me about 45 minutes to read this post because I fell into an Atlas Obscura hole!

I was totally into Anne Rice novels too, no judging. I even spied on her house last summer in New Orleans! Anyway, I am super sad I missed that jambalaya on a stick and so jealous you went to Museum of the Weird! I had that on a foursquare list for ages, but didn't get to it! Awesome write-up, I'm already feeling nostalgic!